Malaysia Portfolio Investment Calls and Stock Market Update (20 May 2020)

Disclaimer: This research should be used purely for informational purposes and is my own personal opinion. I bear no responsibility to whatever investment decisions taken by anyone with regards to this research.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) today was up by 0.8% to end at 1435 points. Markets in Asia were mixed today, with Singapore (-0.8%) and Jakarta (-0.1%) declining while Nikkei grew by 0.8%. The Dow Jones retreated by 1.6% as doubts arose on Moderna’s news on the Covid-19 vaccine trials.

Tensions between United States and China has arisen again this week. This indirectly stems from Trump’s comments on withholding funding for the World Health Organisation by the end of the week. Trump has been critical of WHO’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis from the onset, and has called them pro-China in some instances. As election season looms by the end of this year, Trump has every incentive to gear his election strategy by appearing anti-China and pro-US to his electoral base.

For the Malaysian companies I am keeping track, most of them are still up. The best performing companies in terms of share price are Lotte Chemical Titan (54.2%), Padini (35.5%) and Cahya Mata Sarawak(25.0%). To date, the portfolio of companies I am keeping track on have improved to 10.9% return (19 May 2020: 10.2%). You can have a look at the companies I am keeping track on in the Google Excel sheet here or the table below.